Wednesday, 22 February 2017

First Thoughts on Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Adventures of an average, American family.

Do you get tired of
games where the code takes over most of the functions of your character for
you? Auto aim, context-sensitive cover and traversal, unified control of your
character's limbs and body. If this is something that really grinds your gears,
or if you're in the mood for some cartoon-style flailing around and burbling,
then Octodad: Dadliest Catch might be
for you.

In Dadliest Catch (sequel to the original, freeware Octodad) you take on the role of an
unnamed octopus, who for reasons unknown (at least as far as I have got in the
game,) has crammed his tentacles into clothing in order to masquerade as a
human, marry a woman named Scarlet and raise her two children as his own. To
do this, you switch between two modes: Legs, in which you use the mouse buttons
and mouse movements to individually work the flailing, boneless tentacle pairs
shoved down each trouser; and arms, in which you raise and lower, extend and
retract your arm tentacle, suckering onto objects to manipulate them.

"The aisle is full of banana peels, but I'm the suspicious one?"

The game is divided
into levels, each set in a different area (so far: church, home, store; and I'm
at the start of the dreaded aquarium,) in which you have to complete a set of tasks
and then, in most cases, escape from a chef who knows that you are an octopus
and wants to turn you into a delicacy. As you go about your tasks, it is
vitally important not to give yourself away by knocking things over, trampling
flowers, or slipping on too many of the inordinate number of banana peels
scattered about the world.

If it's not already
clear, Octodad: Dadliest Catch is one
weird mamajama, although for all its bizarre trappings, it's basically one long
ragdoll physics puzzle. As a result, I do struggle to play extended
sessions, but it's fun to dip in and out of.